Enhancing the value of adaptation reporting as a driver for action: lessons from the UK

Abstract

As increasing evidence shows that the risks of climate change are mounting, there is a call for further climate action (both reducing global emissions, and adaptation to better manage the risks of climate change). To promote and enable adaptation, governments have introduced, or are considering introducing, reporting on climate risks and efforts being taken to address those risks. This paper reports on an analysis of the first two rounds of such reports submitted under the UK Climate Change Act (2008) Adaptation Reporting Power. It highlights benefits and challenges for reporting authorities and policymakers receiving the reports that could also inform other countries considering such reporting. For reporting authorities, benefits arise from the reporting process and resulting reports. These benefits include elevating climate risks and adaptation to the corporate level and with stakeholders, alongside facilitating alignment and integration of actions within existing risk management and governance structures. For policymakers, reporting provides enhanced understanding of climate risks and actions from a bottom-up perspective that can be integrated into national-level assessments and adaptation planning processes. The identified challenges are those related to capacity and process. These include limited risk and adaptation assessment capacities; relevance of climate change risks and adaptation in the context of other urgent risks and actions; reporting process effectiveness and robustness; and the provision of effective and sufficiently comprehensive support, including feedback. Key policy insights. Effective adaptation reporting needs to be designed and delivered so as to enhance the value of the reporting process and resulting reports both for those reporting and those receiving the reports, as well as from the broader policy perspective.. Providing a positive and supportive reporting environment is critical to encourage participation and facilitating contiuous learning and improvement, while also facilitating delivery of policy-relevant adaptation reports.. Contributions of adaptation reporting can be enhanced by an inclusive reporting requirement involving a broader organizational mix that enables more effective risk management and reporting that reflects associated (inter)dependencies and consistency with the more comprehensive post-2015 resilience agenda (Paris Agreement, Sendai Framework for DRR and UN Agenda 2030 SDGs).

Infrastructure Interdependencies: Opportunities from Complexity

“…Where interdependencies are recognised, research, management and policy have largely remained focused on their negative aspects and the risks they represent to resilience; however, further attention is warranted on the opportunities that complexity may represent to society. The risks represented by global climate change (and the interdependencies they highlight) have driven a recognition of the need for organisations to consider these risks and adapt to them together (Dawson 2015;Jude et al 2017;Street and Jude 2019). By a similar token, infrastructure design and management must recognise the risks and opportunities presented by interdependency and adapt appropriately to these as well.…”

“…Understanding interdependency is not a new aim, but it has become increasingly fundamental to infrastructure systems if those systems are to be designed, managed and adapted in ways that will be resilient to future disturbances (Vespignani 2010). Broad challenges emerging from global climate change and population growth are forcing industries, governments and other decision-makers to adapt by reaching across conventional boundaries to share ideas and approaches in order to build resilience in the face of universal concerns (Bissell 2010; Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (UK) 2011; Jude et al 2017;Street and Jude 2019). Further, an evidence gap has been identified around the need for new models and methods to understand the interdependencies present in infrastructure systems (Committee on Climate Change 2016; Guikema et al 2015;Pederson et al 2006).…”

“…Although risk identification and mitigation make up the majority of research and management efforts on infrastructure interdependencies, the systematic view that is necessary for such efforts can shed light on beneficial elements of these interdependencies as well. Examples exist where interdependencies have been exploited or proposed to enhance the delivery of essential services, or synergised to create entirely new services (Delucchi and Jacobson 2011;Pandit et al 2015;Roelich et al 2015), and climate change adaptation efforts frequently state the need for interdisciplinary collaboration (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (UK) 2011; Jude et al 2017;Street and Jude 2019). Where this has been done in practise, however, there has rarely been an explicit recognition of the positive role played by interdependency; yet in complex natural systems it is generally accepted that interdependency and complexity play key roles in enhancing the sustainability and resilience of the overall system (Capra 1996).…”

Why do companies not disclose climate change adaptation strategies?

“…Such reporting has been argued as a necessary step in helping companies understand their climate change risks, opportunities and contribution, as well as a stimulus for starting a dialogue with stakeholders about the issue to lead to more meaningful action and policy 9 . In turn, corporate climate reporting informs country-level outcomes, enhancing "understanding of climate risks, the scope, effectiveness and efficiency of adaptation action, and adaptive capacity from a bottom-up organisational perspective" 10 .…”

National Climate Change Risk Assessments to inform adaptation policy priorities and environmental sustainability outcomes: a knowledge systems perspective

“…Evidence limitations and lower confidence levels were especially apparent for assessing adaptation actions (Table 1 ). Organisational reporting on climate risks and adaptation typically remains in early stages (Street and Jude 2019 ). Monitoring and evaluation studies, where available, were usually derived from specific spatiotemporal contexts, not necessarily representative of the national position.…”